


Somebody stole my car radio (and now I just sit in silence)

by Emulator42



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 23:09:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1620305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emulator42/pseuds/Emulator42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the song Car Radio, New York isn’t all Joel hoped it would be. He deals with his disappointment by listening to music, and when he loses that music he has to find something else. Enter Ray.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somebody stole my car radio (and now I just sit in silence)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually not a big fan of how this turned out, but I posted it on Tumblr so I felt like I had to post it here as well.

New York City.

When Joel moved there for an acting job he expected bright lights and artists on every corner. Not that that isn’t what he got. The city was beautiful. It buzzed with life, an enthralling hum of activity. But the city had a dark side that was only mentioned in cheesy private eye novels. Joel could turn the corner and see a huge crowd cheering on a street artist, or he could turn the corner and find himself staring down the barrel of a gun with another street rat demanding his wallet. Joel must have been really unlucky, because more often then not he got the latter.

It was one of those particularly shitty days when Joel was walking out of a filming location late at night. The parking garage had been full so Joel had to park down the street. It was a shady neighborhood full of barking dogs and crying kids this time of night. Joel had his eyes glued to his script as he walked, but when he reached his car and looked up his heart sank. The window was smashed in, and a group of wires was sticking out of the spot where his radio used to be.

"Motherfucker." He growled under his breath as he opened the door, slipping his hoodie sleeve over his hand to brush the broken glass off of the seat. He grumbled as he started the ignition. He sat for a minute in the car. This was usually the time when he would turn up the radio and relax to his music on the way home from work. The silence weighed on Joel and he sighed, letting his head drop to the steering wheel which let out a loud honk.

Joel drove home to the sounds of the city echoing around him. He was an idiot to even own a car in New York in the first place. It took him hours to get anywhere. In the end he really should’ve invested in a bicycle like the guy he always saw in his apartment building. It got you places faster and had much better gas mileage. Joel groaned as he parked in his building’s garage, realizing he would have to get the window fixed soon. He gave a quick prayer to the god of not-getting-your-car-stolen that his car wouldn’t get stolen and headed inside.

As Joel stepped into the elevator he pulled out his phone and earbuds from his pocket. The kid who rode his bike all the time was leaning casually in the corner of the elevator. He smiled at Joel as he walked in, lifting a hand in a half wave. Joel gave a slight wave back and focused on untangling his earbuds. As he pressed play he heard a slight pop and a tinny whine came out instead of his precious music. Joel yanked them out, rolling them around his hand angrily and stuffing them back in his pocket. The kid in the corner glanced over at his angry grumbles but didn’t say anything. Joel leaned back against the elevator wall and glared at the numbers counting up to his floor. An awkward silence descended into the elevator as both of them pretended not to notice each other. The bike kid shifted awkwardly, shuffling his feet.

"You’re the music guy, right" He finally asked. Joel took a second to register he was talking to him, despite the fact that they were the only two in the elevator.

"The music guy?" He smirked.

"Yeah. You’re always sitting in your car blaring music, or listening to it on your phone, or blasting it through the apartment complex." Joel blushed a little.

"You noticed that? Sorry, I never really thought other people could hear it." The kid shrugged.

"It’s cool, the music doesn’t bother me. I mean, I don’t like it, but I like that you like it."

"Well, no more music for a while, bike boy. my radio got stolen and my headphones are busted." Joel glanced over to at the kid to see a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Bike boy?"

"Yeah, you noticed my music, I noticed your bike." The kid gave a snort and Joel blushed, turning away from him. It really was a dumb thing to say.

"But at least music guy makes me sound cool and perceptive. Bike boy, jesus christ." Joel rolled his eyes as the kid continued to laugh.

"Well what am I supposed to call you then?"

"Call me Ray." Ray said, offering Joel a hand.

"Joel." Joel said, giving it a shake. Just then the elevator pinged onto his floor. He stepped out, giving a small wave. "See you later Ray."

Joel walked to his apartment, fumbling with the keys. He walked in and headed straight for his computer to pull up some music while he ate dinner. He opened up iTunes, selecting his favorite playlist and hitting the volume up button. nothing happened.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He almost yelled, giving the computer a whack. He tried again, but it remained stubbornly muted. Joel let out some choice words then headed to the kitchen to make some unhealthy microwaved shit.

After dinner Joel sat quietly on the couch. Normally by this time he would be listening to a particularly good song and rehearsing his lines, but the silence in his apartment combined with the noise of the city outside was making it impossible for him to focus. Joel’s mind wandered to the kid on the elevator. Ray. He wondered what he was doing right now. Probably eating ramen and studying for college finals if Joel had guessed his age right. Hi sighed, getting up and tossing his script down onto the coffee table. He yawned and stretched. If he couldn’t focus on anything but a dumb college kid he might as well go to sleep early.

The next morning was hell. Joel didn’t have any music to play as he ate breakfast, showered, and got ready for the day. Joel was in a foul mood as he walked into the elevator, swearing under his breath. He didn’t notice Ray was already there until he spoke.

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" His good mood seemed foreign to Joel.

"My computer speaker broke." Joel muttered, not in the mood for another conversation but still not wanting to ignore Ray completely. Ray shook his head.

"Sucks man. Music guy doesn’t have his music then?" Joel shrugged, not in the mood for sympathy. "So what do you do then?" Ray continued. "I mean when you usually listen to music?" Joel shrugged again, hoping Ray would stop talking and leave him alone. "I mean, I get it’s not a permanent thing but you’re always listening to music." Joel shrugged one more time and Ray seemed to get the message, leaning back against the elevator wall and waiting for the doors to open into the parking garage.

That night Joel took a taxi home after dropping his car off at a garage. He took the stairs instead of the elevator, feeling a little guilty about ignoring Ray that morning. Christ, the things he did to avoid confrontation. However as Joel came out from the stairwell he was greeted with the sight of Ray leaning against his door holding a - was that? - Yep. The dumbass was holding a rose.

"Sorry." Ray mumbled, looking down at the floor and shuffling his feet. "I know I was an asshole this morning." Joel shook his head.

"What are you talking about? _I_  was the asshole. What’s with the rose?” Ray shrugged and offered it to Joel.

"There’s a florist near the GameStop I work at. I always have roses in my apartment and I thought you might like one." Joel took it, digging in his pocket for his keys.

"Thanks man."

"No problem." Ray blushed. "Actually, I thought you might like to come eat dinner at my place. I have a speaker you can hook your phone up to." Joel stared at him, then glanced at the rose and back to Ray.

"Are you…asking me out?" He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"No no no! It’s like a bro date." Ray rushed to explain, blushing further. "Ok, that didn’t sound any better. I’m not hitting on you, I’m trying to be neighbourly." Joel glanced skeptically at the rose again.

"You’re not hitting on me?"

"I’m hitting on you a little." Joel laughed as he put his keys away, following Ray to the elevator.

"How did you know which apartment was mine?" Joel asked, suddenly curious.

"It’s the one with all the music, duh." Ray replied as he pushed the button for two floors up. They rode in silence, although this time it was a comfortable silence. Joel played with the rose admiringly and Ray leaned casually against the wall. They occasionally shot each other glances and grins. Joel felt giddy, being asked out by a cute guy was giving him all the warm fuzzy excitement he got back in college.

The elevator stopped and they got out, Ray leading the way to his apartment.

After a healthy dinner of chicken flavored ramen (Ray might not be a college kid, but he sure ate like one) he showed Joel how to sync his phone with his speaker and Joel laid back, waiting for the soothing sounds of his music to wash over him. As he hummed along to his favorite song he felt the weight of the couch shift and Ray sat down next to him. Joel opened his eyes and saw him peering at him curiously.

"You really love your music, don’t you?" Joel shrugged.

"It calms me down. The instant I hit play the stress just melts." Joel closed his eyes again and they sat there in silence. He felt Ray shift his weight again, scooting closer. A tentative hand threaded their fingers together. Joel shifted to allow Ray closer and he felt a head lean on his shoulder. He smiled to himself, squeezing Ray’s hand.

The next morning Joel didn’t even realize he was lacking his music as he got ready, humming to himself as he showered and brushed his teeth. He practically skipped out the door, jamming the elevator button furiously. The doors opened painfully slowly to reveal Ray standing there with a grin.

"Good morning." Joel smiled at him as he pressed the ground floor button. Ray beamed back, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Christ you wake up early." He said.

"Did you really get up early just to catch me in the elevator?"

"Maybe." Ray blushed, holding something out to Joel. "You left this at my place last night."

Joel took the rose gingerly, starting as the elevator pinged open. He leaned in to give Ray a kiss on the cheek before heading out, grinning as he blushed a deep red.

After work Joel took a taxi to the garage, whistling as he payed for his car and hopped in. He didn’t reach for the radio this time, continuing his tune all the way to the store where he grabbed a new pair of earbuds.

Joel was still whistling when he pulled into the garage, heading for the elevator. To his disappointment the doors opened to an empty compartment. Joel stepped in, this time pulling out his new earbuds. He leaned back, ready to relax to his music. Instead of soothing him, the music seemed to put him in edge. He felt his heart sink as the doors pinged open and there was still no sign of Ray. He opened the door to his apartment with significantly less enthusiasm. Trying to get back the feeling of excitement he had that morning, he put on his happiest playlist. He sat alone on his couch, trying to hum along. Something was missing though. Joel hopped up and, realizing he left his script in the car, headed back out.

Joel walked out to the garage flipping through his playlist anxiously, trying to find something to make him feel better. As he opened the door to his car something red caught his eye.

Joel picked up the rose carefully, the feeling of calm he usually got from his music washing over him. He dropped his script and his earbuds in the car, rushing back to the elevator. Joel found Ray’s apartment easily, pounding on the door. Nobody answered. Joel paced and ran a hand through his hair, almost crumpling the rose in frustration.

Just then he heard the familiar ping of the elevator and Joel turned to see a sleepy looking Ray shuffling down the hallway, fumbling for his keys. Joel waited for Ray to notice him, smiling nervously as he looked up and holding out the bedraggled rose.

"My music isn’t working anymore."

"You want to use my speaker again?" Ray yawned and Joel shook his head vigorously.

"No, I mean it’s not the music that makes me happy anymore." Ray looked at him quizzically.

"I - I’m sorry?" Joel shook his head again, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around Ray’s waist.

"Don’t be. It’s  _you_  now. You make me happy.” Understanding dawned in Ray’s eyes as he reached up to join his hands around Joel’s neck.

Joel leaned forward, pressing their lips together gently. They both smiled into the kiss as they stood there in the hallway. Ray fumbled with his keys, unlocking the door without breaking lip contact, then pulled Joel inside by the strings of his hoodie.


End file.
